Young audiences the next media battleground 

As the subscription-based business models take shape in Kenya’s media industry, the next battleground will be the younger audiences. With the physical and digital infrastructure in place and as new talent settles in, the battle for Kenya’s ‘under 35s’ will go full throttle as newsrooms put their best content forward to woo this demographic.

Kenya is a youthful country. Young people under the age of 34 make up 75.058 per cent of the total population. With the estimated median age at 19 years, the success of any media strategy depends on how well it lends itself to younger audiences.

Who will win the battle for younger audiences?

First, newsrooms that prioritise and invest in mobile-based online videos for news and information will have a higher chance of retaining younger audiences than those that treat mobile-friendly video content as an after-thought.

Research in Europe shows that younger audiences are responding better to online video formats that deliver the news in a brief and succinct manner, not forgetting videos that address both news and lifestyle content.

Secondly, to attract younger audiences, media must not be afraid to experiment with video and visual-heavy platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. This might be a controversial one, especially if you consider the traditional platform die-hards who believe that presenting news as a slideshow on Instagram is the epitome of the ‘dumbing down of news’. 

Revolutionary platforms 

The role of TikTok for journalism also remains a grey area. However, if you consider the popularity of these platforms among Kenyan youth, you will understand why it will not hurt for Kenyan media to push their content more on these revolutionary platforms.

The third game-changer, and this is the real clincher, is that only newsrooms that take diversity and inclusion seriously will score points with younger audiences. In 2022, newsrooms seeking to connect with younger folk should recruit younger journalists and editors with diverse backgrounds and talents to produce content that speaks to the needs of younger audiences.

Lastly, news media that are serious about the younger demographic must pivot to solutions and constructive journalism. They must shift to news that empowers, inspires and provides solutions to demographic-specific problems.

Content diversity is also critical. Media should cover both traditional and unconventional topics that highlight the real-world problems that Kenyan youth face. Explanatory journalism, one that moves beyond the headline to explain the background and ‘why’ have also been found to be more appealing to younger audiences. 

Research has shown that among the many motivations for young people reading news is to ‘be smart’ and make contributions in social gatherings. I guess there lies the answer; to capture the attention of younger audiences, Kenyan media must make them sound smart.

The writer is the Director, Innovation Centre, at Aga Khan University;[email protected]